I Ate This: Skillet Food Club
What: Skillet Food Club
Where: This is a very good question. Their GPS locator told me they'd be somewhere in South Lake Union, but when I showed up at 264 Westlake, I found a parking lot with no trailer. Turns out Josh and Danny have set up shop temporarily in the alley east of the 200 block, right below the KIRO sign. As the crow flies, it's behind an Asian import store called East to West.
When: 12:30 today, for lunch
Cost: $14 for a chicken sandwich ($8), a Jones Soda ($2), and a little bucket of poutin ($4).
Would I eat it again? In an instant. I hope their little Airstream has babies.
Official Tasting Notes:
Skillet's menu is small, and for now they're just offering a few things from it each day - so today it was either Kobe beef sliders, a salad, or a sandwich.
After trying a (recyclable) spoonful of the bacon jam they put on their sliders, which is what I really wanted from them - mmm, the essence of 10,000 pigs - I decided on a hazelnut-crusted chicken sandwich, served with a zingy, crisp apple-fennel slaw and a good slathering of roasted shallot aioli. The chicken's crunch and tenderness reminded me of Steelhead's buttermilk-fried chicken sammy; where Steelhead's is the ultimate classic fried chicken sandwich, Skillet's is its more creative counterpart. I shoveled it in without stopping to wipe the mayo off my face, despite the fact that I could quite easily see my messy reflection in the side of the Airstream.
This is poutin, which translates to "upscale cheesy fries": good fries (maybe could have been a bit crispier, but then again, i wanted until I'd downed my sandwich to get to them), topped with an earthy herb gravy and little cubes of sharp Irish cheddar. I really wanted to shove my entire face into the cup, rather than waiting the few precious seconds it took me to move my hand from the cup to my mouth for each bite.
Today, these boys really had the trailer park setting down pat: There was the soft hum of a good generator, a few cranes towering overhead nearby, hot sun reflecting off the dirty pavement, and the consistent thump-thump of of a nearby construction site. But they're only here on Wednesdays and Thursdays, for the time being. And you know what? With food like this, I'd follow them just about anywhere.
Insider Tip: Here, that's a two-part question.
Inside? Yeah, I wondered the same thing. How do they make food like that in a friggin' trailer? Good planning, that's how. Here's what it looks like:
And tips? They don't take 'em. Danny, one of the owners, just stands out front taking orders in his cute Kentucky drawl, and actually asks you not to tip when you sign your credit card slip. If you insist, the tips go to the cook who's not the owner.
Are these guys for real? I want a trailer at my birthday party.
12 comment(s)
Adriana says:
Oh, it sounds fantastic, I can\'t wait to check it out!
Posted On: Wednesday, Aug. 22 2007 @ 3:06PM
sprizee says:
Danny is all sorts of awesome.
Posted On: Wednesday, Aug. 22 2007 @ 3:14PM
Jmiller says:
That GPS system tracking is awesome! Do they serve food on the weekends too?
Posted On: Thursday, Aug. 23 2007 @ 9:02AM
Jess says:
Not yet - but check their site, they\'ll have updates soon.
Posted On: Thursday, Aug. 23 2007 @ 2:36PM
Trina says:
I want those fries!! Danny is an awesome chef. If you have never had the opportunity to sample his and Josh\'s cooking, you are missing out!
Posted On: Thursday, Aug. 23 2007 @ 4:03PM
Renee Robertson says:
Ok---This van has got to come to Kent!!!! Specifically Smith & Greene!!!!
Posted On: Thursday, Aug. 23 2007 @ 4:26PM
Dennis Martinez says:
Way to go Danny and Jess! You\'ve got a winner on your hands!
Posted On: Friday, Aug. 24 2007 @ 7:53AM
CR says:
The food was great and I am going to follow this thing every where they go. I don\'t think its possible to get sick of it.
Posted On: Friday, Aug. 24 2007 @ 9:31AM
Texas says:
Congratulations!! All your dreams are coming true and I can\'t even imagine better people to have that happen to!! No BBQ on the menu? Thats\' a shame....HA! Good Luck and bring that baby south sometime!
Posted On: Friday, Aug. 24 2007 @ 1:59PM
Ronald Holden says:
Poutine, non? Poutin sounds like that Russian dude.
More here: http://www.cornichon.org/000493.html (Poutine at Steelhead Diner). Cheers!
Posted On: Saturday, Aug. 25 2007 @ 8:46AM
Jess says:
Yes, Ronald, I thought so too, but alas, no E on the menu . . .but I think you\'re right.
Posted On: Saturday, Aug. 25 2007 @ 12:59PM
rachel says:
what\'s up with the poutine/not poutine thing? i\'ve recently tried the versions at steelhead and presse and they don\'t seem authentic to me as they aren\'t big, thick, salty frites but merely french fries (with admittedly good gravy) and melted cheese. my ideal poutine is the kind you get in vancouver at 3 a.m.: big frites, standard gravy, and cheese curds that are still in the process of melting. mmm...
Posted On: Tuesday, Aug. 28 2007 @ 12:32PM